Hawkeyes head coach Dan Coates gathered his team together the night before the National Collegiate Box Series (NCBS) Championship Game and asked them one simple question: “What is your favorite part of being on this team?”
NCBS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME PHOTO GALLERYAs the players started to respond, there was a common theme to all the answers amongst the players from the Upstate Collegiate Box Lacrosse League (UCBLL) champion Hawkeyes.
“Everybody kind of said the same thing,” said Zachary Terry. “What I said was that my favorite thing about the guys was the family that we created and that we all love each other no matter what, and if anything ever happens, we are all there for each other. It could be in a game or life. That’s what I love so much about the team. We would go to war with each other.”
The 2024 version of the Hawkeyes was a dominant team, going 14-0 this season, culminating in a thrilling 14-13 overtime win over the three-time defending NCBS champion Royals on August 10. When the players huddled together to hoist the NCBS Cup, it was the end of a journey that began four years earlier in Rochester, NY.
The camaraderie was formed and molded over time, built on past failures and successes. Each summer, they made giant leaps toward their ultimate goal of winning a national title. It began in 2021 in the first season of the UCBLL. That season, the Hawkeyes fell just short in the league title game to the first-pace Armory.
In 2022, National Lacrosse League veteran Dan Coates took over as head coach of the club and started reshaping and rebuilding the team. That season, the Hawkeyes won their first of three straight Mearns Cups and soared into the NCBS National Championship. But a loss in the semifinals derailed their shot at the NCBS Cup.
Last year, they got one step further but lost 8-6 to the Royals in the 2023 Championship Game. This year, however, was a different team. After the loss to the Royals a year ago, Coates and his assistant coaches, Ryland Rees, Thomas McConvey, and Brenden Dobbins, began identifying players to bring into the organization.
With 15 players returning for the national finalist team, the Hawkeyes brought in offensive stalwarts Thomas Gravino, Pax Marshall, and Titus Chapman. They added speed and toughness with Chrishawn Hunter, Ben McGrath, Alex Polisoto, and Ethan Thomson on the defensive end. The Hawkeyes then added John Buck to the goaltending duo of John Jacobs and Taylor Jungermann.
The Hawkeyes also welcomed back Conner Fingar. The University at Albany defenseman missed last season while recovering from an injury. The Penn Yan, NY, spent two seasons with the Hawkeyes and was back to assume the leadership role.
“It felt great to come back this year after missing last season,” he said. “Being named captain by the coaching staff was also an amazing feeling. There isn’t a better group of guys I would have wanted to go to battle with every game this summer. We wanted our team identity to be a blue-collar, gritty group that outworked every team we played. I think it showed on the floor. We were winning because we were working harder than our opponents.”
The Hawkeyes made history this year in the UCBLL, becoming the first team to finish with a perfect record. The Rochester team finished the regular season 7-0, which included a 14-13 come-from-behind win over the rival Buffaloes. The Hawkeyes then captured the Mearns Cup title by knocking off the Rapids and the Buffaloes to rack up two more wins.
By winning the UCBLL crown, the Hawkeyes punched their tickets to the NCBS National Championship in Utica, NY. The Rochester team joined the Buffaloes, Royals (San Diego), Dragons (San Jose), Potomac Gaels, Kings (Philadelphia), Bulls (Ohio), and Red Hawks (Denver). With teams adding several Canadian imports to bolster their rosters, the Hawkeyes added one player from Yonkers, NY.
“What made this group special is that they all bought in and came together as a team,” said Hawkeyes assistant coach Ryland Rees. “We didn’t add any superstars to boast our team for Nationals. We stuck with the guys who showed up to practice and put in the work all season. You can see how close the team got and the chemistry on and off the floor. They built friendship and trust, ultimately leading to playing our best at Nationals. I’m grateful to be a part of the Hawkeyes and very excited for the future of box lacrosse in the US.”
The Hawkeyes’ lone addition was defenseman Colin Sharkey. The University of Maryland and Vermont standout was named an All-NCBS Second Team All-Star in 2023. The Panther City Lacrosse Club also selected Sharkey in the NLL Entry Draft. Colin, whose brother Ryan played for the Hawkeyes in last year’s tournament, could see that passion for winning he heard about when he met the team the night before Nationals.
“They brought me in like family,” said Sharkey. “I (got to) know everyone on a personal level and understood how important this was for them. It gave me that sense that I had to play for the guy next to you because they have been looking for this for a couple of years.”
The Hawkeyes began the NCBS tournament in the toughest division, with three of the NCBS’ top four teams fighting for two playoff spots. Rochester started the National Championship with two games on the opening day and knocked off the Dragons and Red Hawks. On the second day, the Hawkeyes scored a hard-fought 10-8 victory over the Potomac Gaels.
In the first three games, the Hawkeyes received scoring from nine different players. Terry led the way with 16 goals and six assists, while Nate Senez notched four goals and nine assists. Rookie Thomas Gravino posted nine goals and six assists, while Matthew Blythe chipped in eight goals and four assists. The unselfish play that earned the Hawkeyes a trip to Nationals was now on display in front of a national audience.
“Their willingness to learn and sacrifice for each other,” said Hawkeyes assistant coach Thomas McConvey. “This was my first year coaching this group, and they were willing to listen and grow their knowledge of the box lacrosse game. From the first practice in June to the last game in August, the amount of growth that we saw as a coaching staff was truly special and awesome to be a part of. They didn’t care who scored the goals or got the points. They were willing to do anything to get the win for the team.”
In the postseason, the Hawkeyes blasted the Ohio Bulls 18-6 to advance to their second straight NCBS Finals. The team’s resiliency was tested in the title game when the Hawkeyes erased two three-goal deficits in the first quarter. Senez’s goal with one second left in the first quarter tied the game at six and set the stage for a wild ending.
From that point forward, neither team held more than a one-goal lead. The back-and-forth affair saw different players step up. The championship game was Gravino’s time to shine, as he scored five times and added two assists. Senez, Blythe, and Sharkey each notched two goals. Fingar, Burian, and Colt Green added single tallies. The win was another complete team effort.
Sharkey and Ashton Burian scored key go-ahead goals in the transition in the second half to seize momentum for the Hawkeyes. Sharkey’s goal was one of the game’s turning points as he scored with four seconds left in the third quarter to give the Hawkeyes a 12-11 advantage. After the Royals tied the contest early in the fourth, Burian scored on a breakaway to give Rochester back the lead at 13-12 with under five minutes to play.
The Royals, however, evened the game with 36 seconds to play, with their goalie pulled for the extra attacker. Other teams might have folded after yielding the game-tying goal late in a championship game, but not the Hawkeyes. With the game on the line, goalie John Jacobs made the save of the tournament with four seconds left to force the extra session. Ultimately, it was Blythe’s time to play the hero role, as he scored the game-winning goal 35 seconds into overtime.
“It was incredible to see where we started from and where we finished,” said Coates. “I have never seen a group of guys come together like that. It was a true brotherhood. They played for each other. That game was one of the most exciting I have ever been a part of.”